Federal appeals court to hear county GMO bans
DENNIS ODA / NOV. 13, 2014
Ryan Oyama a research scientist at DuPont Pioneer in Waimea, Kauai, shows corn fields near the small town of Waimea, Kauai, where different varieties of corn, including some from genetically modified stock, are grown.
HILO >> Three county laws in Hawaii restricting the cultivation of genetically modified crops that were invalidated by a federal judge are set to go before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
The federal appeals court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the cases on Wednesday from attorneys representing Hawaii, Maui and Kauai counties, West Hawaii Today reported.
“All three counties’ cases are being argued back to back to back,” said Honolulu attorney Paul Alston, who represents biotechnology concerns. “It should be a pretty intense morning for the court and for the public.”
The judges who oversaw the federal district court cases had invalidated the county bans on GMOs and ruled that state law pre-empts county law on the issue. Hawaii and Kauai counties had their anti-GMO laws struck down in 2014, while Maui’s ban was thrown out in 2015.
Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Willie, who authored the original Hawaii County bill limiting genetically modified organisms, disagreed with the judge’s ruling. She said it imposed on the county’s ability to protect the health and safety of its citizens.
“I would hope that people could see the pre-emption issue is totally bogus,” Wille said Friday. “There was no state law that would have pre-empted what we did.”
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Hawaii County is being represented by national environmental advocacy groups, the Center for Food Safety and Earthjustice, which agreed to work for free. The two groups are also representing community members and environmental organizations in the Kauai case. The Maui group, Sustainable Hawaiian Agriculture for the Keiki and the Aina Movement, or SHAKA, which is defending a GMO moratorium there, has hired its own attorneys.
6 responses to “Federal appeals court to hear county GMO bans”
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And extremist transplants think that their mission for “local control” will over-power State laws designed to prevent just such actions by groups working to capture smaller municipalities with uninvolved majorities who, if asked, would reject the extremists’ claims? Be careful what you wish for extremists because that very pogrom can be used against you in other issues. Remember, you are a minority no matter what you claim to the contrary. If you weren’t, you’d have worked these ill-conceived attempts in the State Legislature. Don’t let the door slam you on your way out, malahini.
oh no “extremist transplants” ! Shouldn’t we be contacting “Homeland Security”?
Not a bad idea!
“She said it imposed on the county’s ability to protect the health and safety of its citizens.” said Willie. So before you try impose a ban on the basis of health and safety, prove that it is unsafe first.
It may be one world but there are lots of different communities with different circumstances. I say power to the people in a democratic society is best firmed by ballot issues. The majority should rule. A smaller entities have no equitable lobby power at the national level nor at the state level. It is the golden rule … the corporation with the most gold rules! Is that in your best interest? How is trust working for you these days? How is your health?
Ah, you’re claiming that our State legislators have been bought off? That’s just the sort of lie that makes your arguments false.